50 years since the day Famagusta, where the children’s voices of Greek Cypriots covered it, was filled with screams and ceased to be Greek.
18-7-2024. A day that Hellenism everywhere will keep in its memory for a long time. Despina Vandi, like another “Boumboulina”, as millions of Greeks likened her on social media, raises her head and refuses to sing at her planned concert in Cesme. The popular singer had prepared a concert, as part of the celebration of 30 years of march in the world of music.
However, when she saw the Turkish flag spread across the venue and the poster with the face of the butcher Kemal Atatürk raised, Despina, with too much courage, demanded that both be taken down or the concert would be cancelled.
As it happened, as the Turks never agreed to withdraw them. Not only that, but following the cancellation of the concert was announced, the mayor of Cesme, Lal Denizli, stated that Despina Vandi refused to perform “because she wants the Turkish flag and the Ataturk poster to be taken down.” He asked the audience not to “boo” her, saying she was “not worth wasting their breath on.”
“Many were sacrificed to win these lands. We believe in brotherhood and eternal friendship,” added the mayor. According to the Turkish network NTV, he continued in a strong tone: “No force can dare to take down either our flag or Atatürk’s poster. He can’t even think regarding it. The lady must immediately leave the borders of this city, calmly and calmly. I hope that in whatever country he goes, he will not even think of taking down the flag of that country, for which many children of the motherland sacrificed and made it a symbol. I hope this becomes a history lesson for her,” he was quoted as saying.
Despina Vandi: The singer’s response to social media
“With absolute respect for the audience that would honor me with their presence at my concert, which was scheduled for today, I announce that for reasons of the Turkish Education Foundation that decided to alter the character of the event as a concert by giving it a prohibited and non- agreed political approach, my participation in the event cannot happen”, says Despina Vandi on social media.
Despina Vandi: “I would not sing in front of a butcher”
«I would never sing in front of a picture of the slaughterer of the Greeks. I asked for his photo to be removed and for a Greek flag to be placed next to the Turkish flag in its place,” says Despina Vandi to OPEN regarding yesterday’s episode in Turkey.
Despina Vandi: “It would be an insult to sing with Kemal Atatürk in the background”
With a statement to the media, Despina Vandi’s lawyer gave his own answer as to why the singer refused to sing at her scheduled concert in Cesme, Smyrna.
“I want to state that it would be an insult to historical memory for any Greek artist to appear at an event with a giant Kemal Ataturk flag in the background. Even more so on the 50th anniversary of the Turkish invasion of Cyprus” said in his statement the lawyer of Despina Vandi, who was shown on the show “Summer’s Cool”.
Regarding the rumors that wanted Despina Vandi to take legal action once morest the Turkish educational institution, this seems not to be the case.
What an associate of Despina Vandi said
“We had a concert in Cesme, Turkey, with the country’s educational institution. We got there, they set up the stage and by the time we got there for sound check with the band, there was a banner up behind the stage. We asked if it’s for our own concert or if it’s for something else,” Despina Vandi’s colleague said.
“It was a bit of a consultation, that OK Despina would do a pop concert, folk, her own concert. It would have no meaning, they had not agreed on such a thing. The scene is usually clear, there is nothing behind it. This banner was at the back of the stage. It was very large, taking up the entire back of the theater. It was a Kemal banner and the Turkish flag,” emphasized Eugenia Liakou.
“We were waiting in the dressing room to go out and the announcement was made to us. We went out with protection because then this mayor spoke a little more strongly and people were upset. They took us out and we went back to the hotel. Despina left straight away, we were ok to leave today. I don’t know if there were any Greeks in the audience because following the sound check we went to the dressing room and then they informed us that we wouldn’t be going out.
We haven’t seen Despina because she left straight away. We are fine. I was sad that this happened, because people come to listen to music. They love Greek music, they love Greek artists very much. People came to see the concert, I was sad that all this happened. Music is beyond them. When you go to see a concert and suddenly it becomes a political event, it’s not nice,” he noted.
Unethical attack by the Turkish media – “Cruel and shameless”
The cancellation of the singer’s concert is referred to by the Turkish media with harsh characteristics.
The Greek singer canceled her appearance at a charity event in Izmir when she found out that posters of Kemal Ataturk had been posted in the venue where she was to appear, Turkish media report. In fact, the pro-government Hurriyet and the nationalist Türkiye launch an immoral attack on the Greek singer.
The Türkiye newspaper on its front page addresses the singer in a harsh style, writing: “Fearless, shameless Despina”.
Hurriet, on the other hand, reports that “a nationalist sentiment prevails in Greece and those who do not respond to it are ‘lynched'”, as reported by ERT.
In the meantime, according to a report by ANT1, when the decision was made to cancel Vandi’s performance, only the Greek musicians were on stage as the famous singer was staying at the hotel.
According to the complaint of the Greek musicians, they were expelled from the concert venue by eight Turkish bodyguards.
The popular singer, who has made other appearances in the past in Turkey, this time refused to go on stage and the reason was the movements of the organizers, which were not agreed upon. At the hotel, Despina Vandi learned regarding the Turkish propaganda scene.
The Pontians are dripping with honey for Despina Vandi: “A great blessing”
The Pambodian Federation of Greece praises its decision in a statement Miss Vandi to cancel her scheduled appearance in Izmir, as, as she pointed out, “a political character was given to the event without her knowledge”.
The announcement states that “there comes a moment when the attitude of a single person can fill an entire nation with pride. There comes a moment, when you find out in a very simple way, that nothing is over, nothing is lost and that the hope for moral and historical vindication of your race lives, inspires and grows”.
At this moment, the leaderships of Greece and Turkey cooperate kindly at a high diplomatic level and jointly support the failed candidacy for the post of OSCE secretary, Ambassador Feridun Sinirlioglu, a well-known devotee and active supporter of the so-called “Blue Homeland”.
At the same time, a singer, Despina Malea-Maroufidou from Nikopolis, Pontus, known as Despina Vandi, comes to refuse her appearance at a concert in Izmir, following the organizers had posted outside of the plan, without prior information or mutual agreement, a gigantic poster of the genocidal Mustafa Kemal”.
She herself requested that the portrait be replaced with the Greek flag, so that on the “back” of the stage the flags of the two countries wave together, a sign of friendship and cooperation.
The organizers refused and Despina Vandi left the venue
One cannot but contrast the Levantist attitude of the Greek singer with the corresponding submissiveness of the Minister of Culture Ms. Mendoni, where he was happy, was photographed in the company of Turkish leaders under the photo of Kemal.”
Despina Vandi: Worship on Social media for the invalid among the Turks
The beloved singer of Pontic origin did not want to “swallow” what the organizers of the concert did without her knowledge. Not caring regarding the uproar that would break out, and putting national pride above all else, he canceled the concert even though he knew there would be backlash. However, she preferred to keep her conscience quiet and not to dance “chiftetelli” to the rhythms of the neighboring country.
Naturally, Despina Vandi is trending on Greek Twitter/X with users deifying the singer for her decision not to appear on stage.
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